GM's Chevrolet Volt Named 2011 Green Car of the Year

General Motors' (GM) Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle set to debut in the U.S. next month, has won Green Car Journal's 2011 Green Car of the Year award.

The Volt beat out the Nissan (NSANY) Leaf battery electric vehicle, Ford's (F) Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai's (HYMLY) Sonata Hybrid and the gas powered Ford Fiesta, Green Car Journal said Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Volt and Leaf had been considered the two favorites for the award.

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The accolade added to what has already been a good week for General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy last year and went public again this week. GM, which raised its common-stock price range and expanded its IPO earlier this week, priced shares Wednesday at $33 a share, the high end of GM's range, and opened Thursday trading at $35.

The Green Car Journaljury included Sierra Club Chairman Carl Pope, racing legend and car builder Carroll Shelby, oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau and Tonight Show host and noted car buff Jay Leno. The award was won last year by Audi's A3 TDI.